“Disk disease” is a term used to describe changes in spinal disks, leading to pain, which are caused when pressure is put on the disk space between adjacent vertebrae in the spine or when spinal fluid leaks out of the disk space due to the deformation of the outer layer (annulus or capsule) of the disk.
Changes to the spinal disks are generally caused in a manner such that the disks project from the back surface of the spine, putting pressure on the anterior spinal nerve root. This causes a patient to suffer from neuralgia, resulting in deformation of the posture of the patient when the pain is acute. In cases in which disk disease is slight, the pain can be alleviated by taking a rest or wearing a corset. However, in cases of advanced disk disease, the projecting cartilage must be surgically removed. Such disk disease may occur in the cervical vertebral.
The most widely known therapy for treating disk disease is to expand the narrowed disk space between the vertebrae through various therapies and to reinforce the muscles around the disks so that the spinal fluid returns to its original position.
However, such therapy is generally performed using expensive medical apparatuses. Accordingly, it is inconvenient for general patients to receive spinal therapy because the patients must visit clinics equipped with the medical apparatuses and the therapy is expensive.
Due to the disadvantages of the known medical apparatuses, various modified medical apparatuses that can allow patients to receive spinal therapy in their homes have been suggested. Among such medical apparatuses, bed-type medical apparatuses are popular.
Such a bed-type medical apparatus for spinal therapy generally has a treatment head which is supplied with driving force from a motor. The treatment head performs spinal therapy by reciprocating while putting a predetermined pressure on the spine of a patient. Some treatment heads are equipped with lamps, such as helium lamps, infrared lamps, or high frequency lamps, which have a heating or warming function, so that the treatment heads perform the spinal therapy via the acupressure function and the heating and warming function.
Korean Patent Application No. 2002-23915 discloses a medical apparatus for spinal therapy, which includes a rocking means which performs a lateral (left and right) rocking motion around the spine while it rectilinearly moves along the length of the spine. The rocking means comprises a pair of wave rails separately disposed on both sides of a guide groove in the widthwise direction of the guide groove. The wave rails are repeatedly curved up and down in opposite directions and guide the treatment head, which is in contact with the upper surfaces thereof, so that it sways left and right.
With reference to FIG. 1, which shows a general medical apparatus for spinal therapy, including the above-mentioned apparatus disclosed in the patent application, the medical apparatus for spinal therapy includes a sponge-like mattress 10 having elasticity, which serves as a bed, on which a patient can lie, and serves as a base on which a treatment head 20 and various components for moving the treatment head 20 are mounted.
The mattress 10 is provided with a guide groove 15 that has a predetermined width and depth so as to guide the treatment head 20 to move in the longitudinal direction of the spine of a patient. A pair of flat rails 16 having a simple straight line form is disposed on the bottom of the guide groove 15 and are separated from each other in the widthwise direction of the guide groove 15 by a predetermined distance in order to enable the treatment head 20 to move smoothly.
The treatment head 20 is a device that performs spinal therapy by reciprocating along the guide groove 15, and thus the treatment head 20 performs the acupressure function against the spine and the muscles around the spine of the patient. The treatment head 20 is provided with a plurality of acupressure protrusions 22, in which lamps are embedded for performing a heating or warming function, and a pair of wheels 26 and 27, which are disposed on the lower surfaces thereof and are in contact with the flat rails 16 in a rolling manner.
The treatment head 20 receives driving force from a driving device installed inside the mattress 10 and thus reciprocates along a predetermined path defined by the guide groove 15.
The driving device includes a reversible motor 35 for generating driving force, wheels 30 and 31, and a transmitting wire 32 for transmitting the driving force to the treatment head 20. The reversible motor 35 receives electric power from an external power source and generates rotating force in a forward direction or a backward direction. It is known from the illustration of FIG. 1 that the reversible motor 35 is installed inside the mattress 10.
Although it is not shown in the figure, the reversible motor 35 is wired so as to generate the rotating force selectively in the forward direction or the backward direction in response to a signal from a switch (not shown) manipulated by a user, and is also configured so as to generate the rotating force in the forward direction or the backward direction selectively in response to a signal from a limit switch (not shown) installed at both ends of the guide groove 15.
The rotating force of the reversible motor 35 can be transmitted in a manner such that the output end of the reversible motor 35 is connected to a drive wheel 30 of the pair of wheels installed at both ends of the guide groove 15. As shown in FIG. 1, the drive wheel 30 is installed at one end of the guide groove 15 and a driven wheel 31 is installed in a freely rotatable manner at the other end of the guide groove 15, which is opposite the end at which the drive wheel 30 is installed. The drive wheel 30 and the driven wheel 31 are connected by the transmitting wire 32.
The transmitting wire 32 is a component that is connected with the front and the back surfaces of the treatment head 20 in the advancing direction of the treatment head 20 at both ends thereof, and thus transmits the driving force of the reversible motor 35 to the treatment head 20. The transmitting wire 32 can take various forms according to the shape of the drive wheel 30 and the driven wheel 31. For example, if the drive wheel 30 and the driven wheel 31 are configured as sprockets, the transmitting wire may be a chain. In the case in which the drive wheel 30 and the driven wheel 31 are rollers, the transmitting wire 32 may be a belt.
However, the known medical apparatuses for spinal therapy, including the apparatus disclosed in the above-mentioned patent application, have a problem in that the treatment head 20 is fitted in a manner such that a center portion thereof is mounted by a hinge member 24, so that the treatment head 20 can pivot to left side and the right side of a main body 25 in the widthwise direction of the guide groove 15, as shown in FIG. 2, which is a sectional view illustrating the fixing structure of the treatment head. However, the hinge member 24 is subjected to a strong frictional force when the treatment head 20 undergoes left and right rotational motion. Accordingly, the hinge member 24 may be easily worn out, resulting in operational failure of the medical apparatus. Further, in the case in which the medical apparatus has the above-described structure, it is impossible to replace only a worn component; instead, the entire treatment head must be replaced.
Further, the above-mentioned fixing structure of the treatment head has a disadvantage in that it can allow the treatment head to pivot to the left side and the right side with respect to the hinged portion, but cannot allow the treatment head to perform vertical linear motion. Accordingly, the medical apparatus employing the fixing structure cannot give various types of stimulation to human body parts.
Accordingly, it is necessary to develop an innovative fixing structure of a treatment head which can solve the above-mentioned problems.